FP - Flippa account suspended!

[Imminentdomains]

Hey guys,

This happened to me recently, and I wanted to share with you my "boo-boo" so that you don't end up the same way.


I bought some sites, as we all do, and gave out my hosting credentials. I thought nothing of changing them immediately, and put off changing them until later. I list 2 auctions, and not even two days later, my Flippa account gets suspended!!!


They told me it was due to email spamming the site for sale!!! I assure you I didn't send the emails. Their support was awesome and very understanding.



But rest assured, anyone that doesn't protect their credentials after EVERY site transfer will suffer the same fate, sooner or later.



And for the record: My account is no longer suspended and I change my credentials EVERY time after giving them out.


HTH

[bluey4]

To get another account if this happens again just set up a corporation so that your name isn't the thing they see and even don't add yourself as a director until approved if necessary. After that re-apply and you should be golden. Corporations open many doors individual accounts don't such as CPA, Google and the like. People feel more secure buying and selling to a company even if your office is shed in your backyard.

[Bryan]

...People feel more secure buying and selling to a company even if your office is shed in your backyard.

... which is utterly retarded as in case of a legal dispute, a limited liability company's maximum liability is defined by its share capital, whereas from a private person you can get their cars, houses and literally everything that the own.

But nevertheless - companies (no matter how new or small) typically do get more trust than individuals. Crazy, huh?

[succor]

Please forgive the newbie questions, but...
1) What do you mean when you say "credentials"?
and...
2) Why would you give them out?

[Imminentdomains]

credentials as in username and password



and you give them to someone so they can transfer the site files to your hosting.


Noob questions are accepted here

[Links]

The first site I sold on Flippa, I left my Adsense ads up, so that the site would still look presentable. I told the buyer to put in their Adsense ID, the location etc.. and didn't think anything of it. Then in a few weeks I looked into my Google Adsense account and I received a warning that my account was going to be suspended soon if I didn't remove my Adsense off of that site. Well, the buyer changed the forum into an adult site!

So now I quickly remove everything after the sale, not even my Akismet ID from WordPress etc...

[Bryan]

That's a very valid point. Especially as I've even seen people *suggest* others to leave their Adsense codes up on sites that they sell in hopes that the new owner forgets to change them and hence revenue still goes into the old owner's Adsense account.

On another note, this whole thing seems completely ridiculous. Adsense codes are within HTML which means that I can open up any of my competitors' sites that's got Adsense on it, click "view source" and copy-paste their Adsense code. I can then put it on a site that grossly violates G's terms and conditions and - voila - my competitor is blocked from Adsense.

Or did the site have a separate channel ID? In that case, would it perhaps be enough to just delete the channel (although you'd still be getting clicks even if the channel doesn't exist).

[springer98]

The first site I sold on Flippa, I left my Adsense ads up, so that the site would still look presentable. I told the buyer to put in their Adsense ID, the location etc.. and didn't think anything of it. Then in a few weeks I looked into my Google Adsense account and I received a warning that my account was going to be suspended soon if I didn't remove my Adsense off of that site. Well, the buyer changed the forum into an adult site!

So now I quickly remove everything after the sale, not even my Akismet ID from WordPress etc...

That's a very valid point. Especially as I've even seen people *suggest* others to leave their Adsense codes up on sites that they sell in hopes that the new owner forgets to change them and hence revenue still goes into the old owner's Adsense account.

On another note, this whole thing seems completely ridiculous. Adsense codes are within HTML which means that I can open up any of my competitors' sites that's got Adsense on it, click "view source" and copy-paste their Adsense code. I can then put it on a site that grossly violates G's terms and conditions and - voila - my competitor is blocked from Adsense.

Or did the site have a separate channel ID? In that case, would it perhaps be enough to just delete the channel (although you'd still be getting clicks even if the channel doesn't exist).

Google and their adcents program just plain sucks! You'd think a company the size of the google would have a better handle on things. I think we all know differently.

I have an affiliate program for one of my products and one of my affiliates sold a WP site with one of his affiliate links buried in an old post. The new owner never changed or removed it, so my affiliate is still making commissions off a site he sold months ago. I say good for him!

[succor]

credentials as in username and password

and you give them to someone so they can transfer the site files to your hosting.

Noob questions are accepted here

Thanks for answering the question; that’s what I thought. I just didn’t want to assume anything... you know what they say about assuming stuff.

[succor]

The first site I sold on Flippa, I left my Adsense ads up, so that the site would still look presentable. I told the buyer to put in their Adsense ID, the location etc.. and didn't think anything of it. Then in a few weeks I looked into my Google Adsense account and I received a warning that my account was going to be suspended soon if I didn't remove my Adsense off of that site. Well, the buyer changed the forum into an adult site!

So now I quickly remove everything after the sale, not even my Akismet ID from WordPress etc...

Thanks for the words of wisdom. It is something I would never have thought of, being a newbie. I will add it to my list of things to do after the sale. Maybe it will help me keep out of trouble... and I need all the help I can get.